Last Guardian executive producer resigns, joins Bossa Studios
The employment status of The Last Guardian designer Fumito Ueda is still in question, but we have received official word that another producer on the title has departed from Sony. Executive producer Yoshifusa Hayama has left Sony to join UK social game developer Bossa Studios as creative director.
Hayama was a VP at Sony Computer Entertainment from 2007 until his departure (according to his LinkedIn profile), credited on a variety of PS3, PSP and Vita projects including LocoRoco 2, The Eye of Judgment, and even the Torne DVR project. He previously worked at Sega's AM2 division, Square Enix, EA, and then Sumo Digital -- which helps explain his connection to the UK game industry.
"The future of gaming is definitely online and thanks to recent developments with Flash 11, there is no reason why a social game can no longer be as visually stunning and as compelling as the big console titles," Hayama said in the announcement of his appointment (after the break). He added that Bossa plans to bring games with "3D elements" to Facebook and other social networks.
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Bossa Studios Snaps Up Ex-Sony VP Yoshifusa Hayama to Bring 3D to Social Gaming
Following the successful release of its first social game, Monstermind, disruptive gaming veterans Bossa Studios bolsters its Tech City headquarters with the appointment of Yoshifusa Hayama, as creative director.
With an impressive track record of over 14 years' experience in Japanese and UK gaming, Yoshifusa most recently spent over four years as vice president at Sony Computer Entertainment. Having worked on some of the biggest titles in gaming history including the Final Fantasy series and ICO, Yoshifusa's was previously named executive producer on the well-hyped and soon-to-be-released The Last Guardian. At Bossa Studios, his passion, insight and exceptional creative designs skills will be put to the test to evolve Bossa's offering with the promise of the first 3D game to be released by the Studio this year.
Commenting on his appointment, Henrique Olifiers gamer-in-chief at Bossa Studios, said: "The appointment of Yoshifusa marks a great day in our journey and of social gaming as a whole. In Monstermind we have already bought to market a game that breaks the traditional social gaming mould; one that works in real-time and with multiplayer elements. Now we have in-house one of the finest creative minds in the gaming industry, who not only shares our vision for creating 'anti-social' games that people love, but will make social games as compelling and visually stunning as their console counterparts."
Yoshifusa added: "The future of gaming is definitely online and thanks to recent developments with Flash 11, there is no reason why a social game can no longer be as visually stunning and as compelling as the big console titles. Together at Bossa we have plans to bring a plethora of games to Facebook and eventually other appropriate social media channels, which include 3D elements and can be enjoyed by all age and interest groups."
Monstermind, Bossa Studio's first social game launched at the end of September and currently has an impressive 380,000 unique monthly users. Credited for bringing real-time and multi-player functionality to social gaming, Bossa Studios is part of the Shine Group.
